


Do I Alone Hear this Melody?

by Twentythreefandoms



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Arthur being a prat as usual, Fluff, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-05-25
Updated: 2013-05-25
Packaged: 2017-12-12 23:38:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,579
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/817384
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Twentythreefandoms/pseuds/Twentythreefandoms
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Unable to fully tell Arthur about the thousand years he experienced while he waited for Arthur's return, Merlin decides to surprise Arthur by taking him to an Opera which was written by Richard Wagner and Merlin about the love the King and the Sorcerer shared to try to explain his love and devotion to him. However, Arthur gets overwhelmed by the story and flees the theater. Will Merlin be able to eventually explain everything to Arthur, or has it all just been in vain?</p>
            </blockquote>





	Do I Alone Hear this Melody?

**Author's Note:**

> I initially wrote this with the intent of the two coming together and Merlin telling Arthur his entire story to him, which then snowballed into this short piece. The opera mentioned is real and is actually written by Richard Wagner, and the lyrics (at the end of the story)t o the final song mentioned happened to fit perfectly to 5X13 I knew it was fate that I had to write it. So please enjoy!

Arthur detested modern clothing, especially the choking devices Merlin continuously called ties; so it made the reincarnated King particularly grumpy when the dark-haired man forced him to wear one on one particular rainy London night.

“I don’t see why wearing a leash is considered well dressed.” Arthur grumbled as Merlin tightened the might-as-well-be-noose around the blonde’s neck, “Tunics were much better than these.”

Merlin rolled his eyes affectionately, absently tugging the rest of Arthur’s suit into place in their shared bedroom, “It’s a tie, you dollophead,” Arthur made a protest of the pet name with a strangled sound, “and you have to look the part tonight. These tickets weren’t cheap, even though I helped write it.”

“Then why did you buy the tickets to go to an opera?! I could have told them who I was and…”

Merlin stopped paying attention o Arthur, having learned his lesson that here was no negotiating with the King. However, Merlin didn’t mind in the slightest. It was the little things like these that Merlin waited a thousand years for; the little bickering moments included. There had been many of them in the three months since Arthur’s return, but there had been so many good days to top it. They haven’t had the big talk, yet (the one about Merlin and the hundreds of times he saved Arthur’s life with magic and their final days together where they forgot how Arthur had been married…to a woman), because Merlin was too busy trying to incorporate Arthur in everyday life in the twenty-first century. 

“Merlin, are you even listening?” Arthur asked incredulously, snapping the sorcerer out of his trance.

“Of course,” Merlin assured him with a grin, “Now let’s go before you start a fire… again.” Merlin sent Arthur a smirk as he took his arm and pulled him out of the flat before the king could further protest.

* * *

This opera was nothing like the ones Arthur was used to in Camelot, which disappointed him slightly, seeing as he actually knew what an opera was in this crazy world. The women wore enormous dresses and the men wore puffy costumes which made them appear to be more bird than human. They all danced around on stage, which Arthur was used to, but he couldn’t swallow the overwhelming set behind them. Just like everything in this strange world, it gave him a headache. However, he would never say anything to Merlin, seeing as the man had co-written it with Richard Wagner in Germany in the nineteenth century, another thing that gave Arthur a headache. 

The plot was simple enough to keep up with; the main characters, both starting off hating each other, grew close together on a ship that was bound for the woman’s soon-to-be groom. The two drank from cups which were supposed to be laced with poison but were in fact love potions, causing the two to fall madly in-love with each other. The two lovers spent many nights together, hiding their love from the kingdom and the man she was then married to. 

The entire time Arthur kept feeling as if some of this was familiar, as if he had known what was going to happen. It didn’t even surprise him all that much when the man was thrust and mortally injured with a sword. He just couldn’t place why it all seemed to be known to him, and it must have shown on his face because he could sense Merlin leaning into him as they continued to watch from the high balcony. 

“You okay?” Merlin breathed into Arthur’s ear, that familiar tickle in his stomach reappearing before he repressed it, and looked into Merlin’s blue orbs that reflected the constant activity on the stage. Arthur forgot how handsome Merlin could be, especially when the lights were flickering across his sharp cheekbones.

“Yes,” Arthur told him, briskly looking at anything but Merlin, and incidentally chose the ornate ceiling of the opera house, which seemed to prove a point to Merlin that he was not okay, or whatever that word that Merlin used meant.

Arthur felt a pressure on his arm and looked down to find Merlin gently clutching his wrist, sending soothing spells through his body as his thumb stroked small circles on the flesh which wasn’t covered by his suit jack. 

Arthur melted into the touch and didn’t react when Merlin put his mouth to the blonde’s ear again, “I want you to listen to this last song coming up next; I need you to hear it.” Something sounded different in the way that Merlin spoke, almost as if he was nervous, but the blonde was too busy trying to keep his heart rate down to care too much. 

The man nodded and continued to watch the opera, the entire time his brain sending out more signals that this was familiar somehow. It wasn’t until the song started that Arthur finally realized it all; the main characters meeting and immediately hating each other, they drank a cup that was supposed to be poisoned but was a love potion that brought them together, they had to hide their forbidden love to the kingdom, especially the king, and now the man was mortally wounded and being held by the one he loved. He looked down in his lap to the play bill and his heart stopped when he saw the memorable names written on the title: Tristan and Isolde. Arthur snapped his head up as he saw the main character, Tristan, mortally wounded as Isolde sang her last song to the man she loved, fittingly titled “Liebstod, or Love Death” before Arthur watched as Tristan died in Isolde’s arms.

Merlin seemed to be looking expectantly at Arthur, but he felt as if it wasn’t just Merlin’s eyes on him anymore, but instead the entire theater’s, “I need a moment,” Arthur gasped out before climbing out of his seat and making his way out of the theater.

The blonde walked blindly from the auditorium until he eventually found his way to the lobby where he heard an “Arthur, wait!” from a pleading Merlin, which caused the only other person, the ticket holder, clear his throat and awkwardly leave the two to be alone.

“What the hell was that, Merlin??” The blonde asked, pointing towards the general direction of the stage, “Tristan and Isolde?? The two smugglers we met a thousand years ago??”  
Merlin’s jaw set, “Yes, well…”

“Their story was pretty familiar, don’t you think?” Arthur asked sarcastically, “Kind of similar to someone else I know… you know, it was interesting to watch my own death on the stage.”

Merlin sucked in a breath and that old look in his eyes appeared on his face, seeming to age him with a snap of his fingers. Arthur wanted to apologize, but his adrenaline was pumping from all the information that was streaming into his system. 

“Why did you take me here to see this?” Arthur asked tiredly.

“I needed you to see the story of us…” Merlin told him, causing Arthur to think back to the times when the lovers were together in every sense of the word, causing him to blush, “It was more than I could ever say.”

“Well you never tried…” Arthur pointed out, finally admitting that it bothered him that Merlin had yet to tell him about the thousand years that he was alone in the world. It had been the first time that Arthur had seen that side of Merlin, through the lens of actors and actresses acting out their lives; the fights, the conversations, and the unspoken love that they never once dared to think about, or at least that was the case for Arthur. It was all building up in his head and though they were alone in the theater Arthur felt as if he was going to explode from the pressure. 

With a quiet, “I’m sorry,” he vanished from the theater and didn’t slow down until he couldn’t hear Merlin pleading for him to stop any longer.

* * *

Merlin made it back to the flat before Arthur did, and though every atom of his being wanted to go after the blonde, he knew that Arthur had a general idea about finding his way home by now; it just worried Merlin if he would come back. Merlin had wondered how long it would take Arthur to realize the personal connection to the opera; how the poisoned chalice represented the poisoned chalice Arthur drank to protect Merlin, and the unspoken love that bound them ever since. Of course it would only occur to the king at the very end, with the two lovers together, Tristan dying in Isolde’s arms as Isolde sang of lost love, only to die of heart break soon after her soul mate. 

The final song, the Liebstod, was Wagner’s tribute to the love of Merlin and Arthur, wanting to make the song perfect and exact to the story that was to be told to the world. He took every lyric and made it seem as if he was there while Merlin and Arthur shared their last moments together before Arthur had died. Wagner said that the Liebstod would continue to play forever until Merlin and Arthur became one, and Merlin waited eagerly for that day, knowing it had not yet come until Arthur had seen the opera for himself, so that he could see for himself the love and devotion that has always been given by Merlin.

It was Merlin and Wagner’s accounts of the two’s relationship, but the world wouldn’t have understood the complicated love that Merlin and Arthur had, unlike Wagner, so he told the story with the composer under the names Tristan and Isolde, two people who shared closely the story of the king and the warlock. Merlin had only known Tristan and Isolde for a short amount of time, but the love they shared was so profound, Merlin could not think of two better people to depict.

All of this mulled around in Merlin’s head as he waited for Arthur, standing patiently by the windows in the living area that looked over the small park not far from the flats. It was almost midnight by that point, and yet there were still people, couples to be exact, who were strolling together, embracing in the increasing coldness, only to cause Merlin’s heart to drop. Of course he wanted that with Arthur, something told him he always wanted that, but perhaps it wasn’t meant to be. Arthur was married to Gwen after all before he died, but Merlin was a hopeless romantic and couldn’t help but retain a certain expectation that has yet to pass. He thought of all the times he would look at Arthur with want, and the man would return the same look, something so intimate that it brought a blush to each other’s cheeks. That had to be love, right? 

An hour, maybe two, pass and Merlin was on the brink of exhaustion as he continued to watch out the window for Arthur, even the classical music which normally helped him stay awake seemed to be lulling him into unconsciousness. 

“Wagner?” Came a voice behind Merlin, causing the sorcerer to whip around and nearly melt at the sight of Arthur. His blonde hair was damp from the mist in the air, his jacket was slung over his shoulder, his tie was loosened around his neck and a look of similar exhaustion plagued his face as he walked further into the flat.

Merlin snapped into attention and realized Arthur had said something, “W-what?” he asked, unable to take his eyes off the sight that was so Arthur.

“Wagner,” Arthur repeated, pointing to the stereo that continued to play, “The music’s Wagner… the opera which may or may not be about us was co-written with Wagner, did you two have a thing, or…”

Merlin shook his head and smiled tiredly, “No, we were just friends, I just happened to tell him everything.”

“Well, then he’s the only one.” Arthur sighed heavily, knowing the full force in the supposed-to-be snap wasn’t there.

“It’s a lot to take on,” Merlin countered, wishing Arthur and he were at least a bit closer. Merlin was still leaning on the window sill and Arthur was clear over on the other side of the room, unwilling or lacking the ability to move closer, making Merlin feel like a pariah, “We have so much time, I didn’t want to overwhelm you.”

“So you thought taking me to an opera that’s hundreds of years old, written by you and Richard Wagner depicting us was a good way to go about telling me you fancy me??”

Merlin blushed, “That’s all you got out of that? That I want you? Because if so then Wagner and I did something very wrong…”

“I don’t know, Merlin!” Arthur sighed and walked towards Merlin much to his relief and took his hands. It was such an unfamiliar act that Merlin had to suppress a gasp, but he clung to his hands anyways, “Please, no more secrets, Merlin.”

The silence between them was filled with the sound of Wagner softly playing in the background as Arthur performed another unfamiliar act by pulling Merlin into his body, lifting one of their entwined hands and resting his other hand on Merlin’s waist as the dark-haired man placed his free hand on Arthur’s firm bicep, and they began to rock back and forth to the music.

“Alright,” Merlin agreed as he rested his head on Arthur’s shoulder, taking in the scent of the depleting rain and the still present smell of chain mail, “but how did you know this was Wagner?” Merlin inquired about the music.

Arthur chuckled, “It’s the only music I like. The rest of this new stuff you call music, how do you put it…sucks.”

Merlin grinned on Arthur’s shoulder, “A lot of the music Wagner wrote is inspired by me,” he confessed.

“Tell me,” Arthur whispered against Merlin’s cheek. 

And so Merlin did.

He told him of their destiny, how they were meant to be together since the dawn of time. He told Arthur of the truth of Arthur’s birth, how his birth in turn caused his mother to die to reset the balance of nature, causing his father to banish magic and forcing Merlin’s father to flee for his life from Camelot and wound up in Ealdor; which then caused the birth of Merlin. He then told Arthur about how he grew up with magic, knowing that he was not yet complete until that moment he met Arthur and immediately loved/hated him. He spoke of the battles where he had saved Arthur with his gift more times than he could count, and how he had always saved Arthur because he couldn’t bear to be without him.  
And then he told Arthur about how he lost him at Camlann. Merlin spoke about how Percival had found him on the shore of Lake Avalon before taking him to Ealdor where he was left in the safe confines of his little village and the care of his mother. It wasn’t until a few months later when Percival and Leon had found him, pleading he return to Camelot because it was not home without him. He told Arthur of the rise of Camelot under Gwen’s, and eventually Leon’s, co-rule, how they ruled with grace under Arthur’s name and brought peace among the kingdoms.

And then Merlin told Arthur about the years after Camelot, how he travelled across what was now called Europe and gained wisdom and knowledge across time. But he never stayed away for long, because he was always Arthur’s first and foremost, and eventually he would return and Merlin would be there waiting. 

Merlin spoke of the black plague, the Renaissance, Leonardo Da Vinci (who was queerer than Merlin and Alexander the Great combined), Martin Luther, Richard Wagner, Queen Elizabeth, the French Revolution, World War One and Two, and everything in between. 

And Arthur never interrupted once. They only continued to sway in their little universe as Merlin continued to speak, Arthur’s heart swelling with ever second that had passed, listening to the account of Merlin’s life. When the dark-haired man was finished, a quick glance at the clock showed it was nearly four in the morning, but both were too wrapped up in each other to care too much. 

“Merlin,” Arthur spoke for the first time, which was obvious in the coarseness of his voice, “Oh Merlin…” 

“Now you know,” Merlin replied softly against Arthur’s neck, “everything I’ve done was for you.”

Arthur pulled Merlin closer and hardened his grasp on Merlin’s waist, “I love you so much.” He whispered to Merlin softly after a few moments of perfect silence.

The warlock stiffened and lifted his head in order to look into Arthur’s warm blue eyes, “Please don’t say that,” he requested of Arthur.

“But I do.” Arthur told him, smiling softly.

“Would you have said that before I told you I waited a thousand years for you to return?” Merlin pointed out.

“I would have said it the moment I met you,” Arthur spoke honestly; “I was just simply too busy throwing you into the cells.” He chuckled.

Merlin smiled and rolled his eyes, “You could have waited a little longer.”

“You’re such a girl, Merlin,” Arthur chuckled, “but I still lo—“

“No,” Merlin requested, putting a finger on Arthur’s lips to silence him, only to cause the other man to protest.

“Merlin, have you been to the tavern while I was out?” Arthur asked incredulously, swiping away Merlin’s finger.

“They’re called pubs now, Arthur, and no.” 

“Then why can’t I tell you…” Merlin raised an eyebrow, “you know…”

The sorcerer sighed, “Because I want you to wait and say it when I haven’t just spent three hours telling you that I’ve loved you for over a thousand years. I don’t want you to feel as if you were obligated to say it.”

Arthur grumbled once more about Merlin being a girl before nodding, “Fine. But I do.”

“I know.” Merlin smiled through his laugh as the two stopped in their swaying, “Tired?” he asked.

“Exhausted,” Arthur replied, brushing his thumb against Merlin’s cheekbone, “I didn’t know you could talk so much.”

“You love it.” Merlin responded with a smirk as he and Arthur headed towards their bedroom, since the blonde refused to let Merlin sleep on the couch (also known as the chicken was too scared to be alone) after he first returned, so it had become another unspoken bond between them. 

They didn’t bother with pajamas tonight for they were nearly too exhausted to lift their arms. Instead, they merely stripped down to their boxer-briefs and crawled into their warm inviting bed, moaning once they finally were on the plush mattress. 

Despite having been exhausted moments ago, the two could not sleep; they could only stare at each other with open expressions, their bodies less than a foot away from each other. In the end, though, it was Arthur who closed the gap and pressed his lips against Merlin’s. It should have taken Merlin by surprise by his sudden act, but in the end all he could do was pull Arthur closer as the night enveloped them in their own little world of open-mouthed kisses and explosive touches in areas Merlin had only dreamed of, only to discover that it was more than he could have ever wanted. 

Arthur pulled away and smiled lovingly down at Merlin, “Has it been long enough?” Arthur asked, his breath coming in short spurts.

“Yes…” Merlin breathed.

“I love you, Merlin.”

Merlin smiled up at the blond and ran his hands through his golden hair as Arthur began to kiss Merlin’s neck tenderly, “I love you, too.” He responded in a whisper, “I love you so much…”

Arthur cut him off by covering his mouth desperately with his own, their tongues swirling together, every stroke another declaration of love. They eventually pulled apart, their breath shallow and their pupils blown out of proportion, but they silently agreed that tonight was perfect just like this; one step at a time, their eyes spoke. 

Both turned and faced one another and pulled each other close, their foreheads resting against each other’s, their arms resting on each other’s waists and their legs entwined as they slowly drifted off to sleep in each other’s arms.

Just like that, Merlin and Arthur dreamed of each other and the Liebstod finally ended.

Mildly and gently,  
how he smiles,  
how the eye  
he opens sweetly ---  
Do you see it, friends?  
Don’t you see it?  
Brighter and brighter  
how he shines,  
illuminated by stars  
rises high?  
Don’t you see it?  
How his heart  
boldly swells,  
fully and nobly  
wells in his breast?  
How from his lips  
delightfully, mildly,  
sweet breath  
softly wafts ---  
Friends! Look!  
Don’t you feel and see it?  
Do I alone hear this melody,  
which wonderfully and softly,  
lamenting delight,  
telling it all,  
mildly reconciling  
sounds out of him,  
invades me,  
swings upwards,  
sweetly resonating  
rings around me?  
Sounding more clearly,  
wafting around me ---  
Are these waves  
of soft airs?  
Are these billows  
of delightful fragrances?  
How they swell,  
how they sough around me,  
shall I breathe,  
Shall I listen?  
Shall I drink,  
immerse?  
Sweetly in fragrances  
melt away?  
In the billowing torrent,  
in the resonating sound,  
in the wafting Universe of the World  
drown,  
be engulfed  
unconscious  
supreme delight!

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much for taking the time to read this! Comments about the story will be much appreciated for future references. This is the first Merlin story I have finished and I have more in the works, so look out for those hopefully! The lyrics have been translated on a website that I found which is originally in English. Once again, thank you for reading!


End file.
